Population Biology Commons^™

Some Agreement On Kin Selection And Eusociality?, David C. Queller, Stephen Rong, Xiaoyun Liao

Biology Faculty Research

The authors of "Relatedness, Conflict, and the Evolution of Eusociality" respond to objections raised by Martin Nowak and Benjamin Allen.

Fisheries Management Paper No.273 - Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of The Peel-Harvey Estuary Harvest Strategy, 2015-2020. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA), Section 3, and the draft Aquatic Resources Management Bill 2013 (ARMB), Clause 9, which will replace the FRMA once enacted.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources …

Concurrent Coevolution Of Intra-Organismal Cheaters And Resisters, S R. Levin, D A. Brock, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

The evolution of multicellularity is a major transition that is not yet fully understood. Specifically, we do not know whether there are any mechanisms by which multicellularity can be maintained without a single-cell bottleneck or other relatedness-enhancing mechanisms. Under low relatedness, cheaters can evolve that benefit from the altruistic behaviour of others without themselves sacrificing. If these are obligate cheaters, incapable of cooperating, their spread can lead to the demise of multicellularity. One possibility, however, is that cooperators can evolve resistance to cheaters. We tested this idea in a facultatively multicellular social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum. This amoeba usually exists as …

Elevational Gradients In Β-Diversity Reflect Variation In The Strength Of Local Community Assembly Mechanisms Across Spatial Scales, J Sebastián Tello, Jonathan A. Myers, Manuel J. Macia, Alfredo F. Fuentes, Leslie Cayola, Gabriel Arellano, M Isabel Loza, Vania Torrez, Maritza Cornejo, Tatiana B. Miranda, Peter M. Jørgensen

Biology Faculty Research

Despite long-standing interest in elevational-diversity gradients, little is known about the processes that cause changes in the compositional variation of communities (β-diversity) across elevations. Recent studies have suggested that β-diversity gradients are driven by variation in species pools, rather than by variation in the strength of local community assembly mechanisms such as dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, or local biotic interactions. However, tests of this hypothesis have been limited to very small spatial scales that limit inferences about how the relative importance of assembly mechanisms may change across spatial scales. Here, we test the hypothesis that scale-dependent community assembly mechanisms shape …

Relatedness, Conflict, And The Evolution Of Eusociality, Xiaoyun Liao, Stephen Rong, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

The evolution of sterile worker castes in eusocial insects was a major problem in evolutionary theory until Hamilton developed a method called inclusive fitness. He used it to show that sterile castes could evolve via kin selection, in which a gene for altruistic sterility is favored when the altruism sufficiently benefits relatives carrying the gene. Inclusive fitness theory is well supported empirically and has been applied to many other areas, but a recent paper argued that the general method of inclusive fitness was wrong and advocated an alternative population genetic method. The claim of these authors was bolstered by a …

Understory Diversity And Composition Drives Carabid Assemblages, Tierney Brosius, Michael Reisner

Biology: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

Fire suppression has nearly eliminated fire as a disturbance in temperate deciduous forests. Lack of fire is transforming these ecosystems through a positive feedback loop termed mesophication: cool, damp, shady conditions become continually more favorable for a few mesophytic species, while deteriorating for diverse array of heliophytic ones. Disturbances caused by urbanization fragment and degrade remnant forests. In urban settings, human management (or lack thereof) is often a dominate driver of succession. Carabid diversity, understory vegetation, patch size, patch connectivity, and permeable surface area were all examined in multiple forest plots in Rock Island and Moline. The result of this …

Microhabitat Conditions Influence Mesohabitat Associations And Distribution Of Larval Salamanders In Headwater Streams, J. M. Yeiser, Stephen C. Richter

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Distribution patterns of stream biota are the result of complex interactions between individuals and their surrounding environment. Determining the spatial scale by which an organism is most influenced is paramount to understanding distribution patterns. Using a multi-scale approach, we investigated factors influencing habitat associations of larval Ambystoma barbouri (streamside salamander) and Eurycea cirrigera (southern two-lined salamander) in three Kentucky headwater streams. We used likelihood ratio G tests to identify associations between species and mesohabitat (i.e., runs, riffles, and pools), and we used microhabitat variables to predict the presence and abundance of salamanders via a priori multiple regression modeling. Ambystoma barbouri …

Further Description Of Hybridization In The Sea Stars Asterias Rubens And Asterias Forbesi Through The Application Of Species-Specific Genetic Markers, Callie Bateson

Honors Program Theses

Hybridization occurs when two separate species reproduce to form hybrid offspring. If the hybrid offspring backcross with individuals of their parental species, the subsequent offspring may have varying amounts of the parental genomes, if viable. Following the retreat of the Last Glacial Maxima 20,000 years ago, two sea star species, Asterias forbesi and A. rubens came into secondary contact in the Gulf of Maine where they began to hybridize. Previous research in our lab studied the frequency of hybridization at four locations along the east coast (Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Hampshire, and New York) using morphological identifications as well two …

Assessing The Contributions Of Two Stocked Strains On A Minnesota-Wisconsin Border Water, Douglas Zentner

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Stocking has long been used as a management tool in the United States even though many of its effects remain cryptic. Past comparisons between stocked strains were generally based on the survival and growth rates of physically marked individuals. More recently the use of genetic markers to assess contributions of stocked individuals has been employed by fisheries managers. Using 13 microsatellite markers we assessed the contributions of two muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) strains (Wisconsin and Leech) stocked into the St. Louis River Estuary. Ancestry in the adult samples remained relatively constant with differences only observed between the 2008 and …

Spatial And Temporal Factors Influencing Northern Pike Fry Density Estimates, Nate Stott

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The Tamarac River in northern Minnesota is an important spawning site for northern pike (Esox lucius) in the Red Lake system. However, little is known about fry production in the river. This study investigates migration densities and spatial and temporal factors influencing northern pike fry density estimates. Northern pike fry were collected with drift nets between 28 May and 4 June 2014. Thirty northern pike fry were randomly selected to have total length measured from each sample. Northern pike fry were observed in the first sample day. Northern pike fry density maxima occurred on 29 May at midnight …

A Genetic Based Approach To Management And Stocking Of Muskellunge, Douglas Zentner

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Fish stocking has long been used as a management tool among fisheries biologists and continues to be met with popular public opinion. Despite perceived simplicity, the full effects of stocking remain cryptic for many fish populations. Stocking has frequently been used to maintain or establish successful muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) populations. Coupled with other management practices the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has established Minnesota as a premier muskellunge fishery. From 1958 to 2012 the MNDNR stocked three strains of muskellunge in Big Mantrap Lake, MN. The first from Shoepack Lake, MN (hereafter Shoepack-strain) was used until the …

Behavior Of Pollinators That Share Two Co-Flowering Wetland Plant Species, Joshua R. Morris

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract:

Intermixed, co-flowering plant species often attract the same pollinators and may therefore compete for pollinator visits. Mimulus ringens and Verbena hastata are sympatric wetland plants that flower in synchrony and share many pollinators, the most common being bumblebees. The possibility of competition between these two plant species led to this observational study tracking pollinator movements in an area intermixed with both M. ringens and V. hastata. We identified pollinator species and tracked them as they visited flowers and moved from plant to plant. Smaller bees seemed to prefer the smaller flowers present on the V. hastata, and …

Wolf-Cougar Co-Occurrence In The Central Canadian Rocky Mountains, Ellen Brandell

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Cougars and wolves are top carnivores that influence the dynamics of an ecosystem, including prey behavior and dynamics, and interspecific competition. Studies about the interactions between wolves and cougars typically find wolves are dominant competitors to cougars. We examined single-species, single-season occupancy models and co-occurrence models of wolves and cougars in the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains to understand interactions between these two species on a grand landscape. Data was collected from 2012-2013 using remote wildlife cameras and separated into seasons. Naïve occupancy estimates were larger for wolves in both seasons, but both species had smaller ranges in winter. There were …

Registration Of ‘Newell’ Smooth Bromegrass, K P. Vogel, R B. Mitchell, B L. Waldron, M R. Haferkamp, J D. Berdahl, D D. Baltensperger, Galen Erickson, T J. Klopfenstein

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

The Conservation Genetics Of Two Emydid Turtles: Emydoidea Blandingii And Malaclemys Terrapin, Charlotte Lizana Petre

Master's Theses

Conservation of turtles is complicated by their sensitivity to habitat degradation and overexploitation. I used microsatellites and standard population genetic analyses to explore genetic diversity, population structure, paternity and demographic history in two emydid turtles that are currently experiencing threats to their survival. The Blanding’s turtle, Emydoidea blandingii, has experienced habitat fragmentation throughout its range, and this study focuses on a population in Massachusetts where hatchlings from one population are being translocated to establish a new population. I found evidence of multiple paternity within clutches and found no significant reduction in genetic diversity when comparing the source population and …

Historical Species Distribution Models Predict Species Limits In Western Plethodon Salamanders, Tara A. Pelletier, Charlie Crisafulli, Steve Wagner, Amanda J. Zellmer, Brian C. Carstens

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Allopatry is commonly used to predict boundaries in species delimitation investigations under the assumption that currently allopatric distributions are indicative of reproductive isolation; however, species ranges are known to change over time. Incorporating a temporal perspective of geographic distributions should improve species delimitation; to explore this, we investigate three species of western Plethodon salamanders that have shifted their ranges since the end of the Pleistocene. We generate species distribution models (SDM) of the current range, hindcast these models onto a climatic model 21 Ka, and use three molecular approaches to delimit species in an integrated fashion. In contrast to expectations …

Fisheries Management Paper No.266 - Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery Bycatch Action Plan 2014-2019. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Bycatch is described as the part of the catch which is returned to the sea (usually referred to as non-retained or discarded) either because it has no commercial value or because legislative requirements preclude it being retained. Thus, this Bycatch Action Plan (BAP) includes unmarketable finfish and invertebrate species, along with endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, such as marine mammals, reptiles and some elasmobranchs.

It is Government policy to minimise bycatch in all commercial fisheries. This BAP details a program of actions to address bycatch issues in the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (EGPMF), in accordance with the EGPMF …

The Phenology Of Ticks And The Effects Of Long-Term Prescribed Burning On Tick Population Dynamics In Southwestern Georgia And Northwestern Florida, Elizabeth R. Gleim, L. Mike Conner, Roy D. Berghaus, Michael L. Levin, Galina E. Zemtsova, Michael J. Yabsley

Environmental Studies / Environmental Science Faculty Scholarship

Some tick populations have increased dramatically in the past several decades leading to an increase in the incidence and emergence of tick-borne diseases. Management strategies that can effectively reduce tick populations while better understanding regional tick phenology is needed. One promising management strategy is prescribed burning. However, the efficacy of prescribed burning as a mechanism for tick control is unclear because past studies have provided conflicting data, likely due to a failure of some studies to simulate operational management scenarios and/or account for other predictors of tick abundance. Therefore, our study was conducted to increase knowledge of tick population dynamics …

Ontogenetic Trait Variation Influences Tree Community Assembly Across Environmental Gradients, Marko J. Spasojevic, Elizabeth A. Yablon, Brad Oberle, Jonathan A. Myers

Biology Faculty Research

Intraspecific trait variation is hypothesized to influence the relative importance of community assembly mechanisms. However, few studies have explicitly considered how intraspecific trait variation among ontogenetic stages influences community assembly across environmental gradients. Because the relative importance of abiotic and biotic assembly mechanisms can differ among ontogenetic stages within and across environments, ontogenetic trait variation may have an important influence on patterns of functional diversity and inferred assembly mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that variation in functional diversity across a topo-edaphic gradient differs among ontogenetic stages and that these patterns reflect a shift in the relative importance of different assembly …

Warming, Competition, And Bromus Tectorum Population Growth Across An Elevation Gradient, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in North America and climate change threatens to exacerbate its impacts. We conducted a two‐year field experiment to test the effect of warming, competition, and seed source on cheatgrass performance across an elevation gradient in northern Utah. We hypothesized that warming would increase cheatgrass performance, but that warming effects would be limited by competing vegetation and by local adaptation of cheatgrass seed sources. The warming treatment relied on open top chambers, we removed vegetation to assess the effect of competition from neighboring vegetation, and we reciprocally …

Combining Demographic And Genetic Factors To Assess Population Vulnerability In Stream Species, Erin Landguth, C. C. Muhlfeld, R. S. Waples, L. Jones, Winsor H. Lowe, Diane C. Whited, J. Lucotch, H. Neville, Gordon Luikart

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Accelerating climate change and other cumulative stressors create an urgent need to understand the influence of environmental variation and landscape features on the connectivity and vulnerability of freshwater species. Here, we introduce a novel modeling framework for aquatic systems that integrates spatially explicit, individual-based, demographic and genetic (demogenetic) assessments with environmental variables. To show its potential utility, we simulated a hypothetical network of 19 migratory riverine populations (e.g., salmonids) using a riverscape connectivity and demogenetic model (CDFISH). We assessed how stream resistance to movement (a function of water temperature, fluvial distance, and physical barriers) might influence demogenetic connectivity, and hence, …

Systematics Of The Neotropical Genus Leptodactylus Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura: Leptodactylidae): Phylogeny, The Relevance Of Non-Molecular Evidence, And Species Accounts, Rafael O. De Sá, Taran Grant, Arley Camargo, W. R. Heyer, María Laura Ponssa, Edward Stanley

Biology Faculty Publications

A phylogeny of the species-rich clade of the Neotropical frog genus Leptodactylus sensu stricto is presented on the basis of a total evidence analysis of molecular (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) and non-molecular (adult and larval morphological and behavioral characters) sampled from > 80% of the 75 currently recognized species. Our results support the monophyly of Leptodactylus sensu stricto, with Hydrolaetare placed as its sister group. The reciprocal monophyly of Hydrolaetare and Leptodactylus sensu stricto does not require that we consider Hydrolaetare as either a subgenus or synonym of Leptodactylus sensu lato. We recognize Leptodactylus sensu stricto, Hydrolaetare, Adenomera, and Lithodytes …

The Genomic Architecture Of Population Divergence Between Subspecies Of The European Rabbit, Miguel Carneiro, Frank W. Albert, Sandra Afonso, Ricardo J. Pereira, Hernan Burbano, Rita Campos, Jose Melo-Ferreira, Jose A. Blanco-Aguiar, Rafael Villafuerte, Michael W. Nachman, Jeffrey M. Good, Nuno Ferrand

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The analysis of introgression of genomic regions between divergent populations provides an excellent opportunity to determine the genetic basis of reproductive isolation during the early stages of speciation. However, hybridization and subsequent gene flow must be relatively common in order to localize individual loci that resist introgression. In this study, we used next-generation sequencing to study genome-wide patterns of genetic differentiation between two hybridizing subspecies of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus and O. c. cuniculus) that are known to undergo high rates of gene exchange. Our primary objective was to identify specific genes or genomic regions that have resisted …

An Agent-Based Model Of Ant Colony Energy And Population Dynamics: Effects Of Temperature And Food Fluctuation, Guo Xiaohui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ant colony, known as a self-organized system, can adapt to the environment by a series of negative and positive feedbacks. There is still a lack of mechanistic understanding of how the factors, such as temperature and food, coordinate the labor of ants. According to the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE), the metabolic rate could control ecological process at all levels. To analyze self-organized process of ant colony, we constructed an agent-based model to simulate the energy and population dynamics of ant colony. After parameterizing the model, we ran 20 parallel simulations for each experiment and parameter sweeps to find …

A New Species Of Chiasmocleis (Microhylidae, Gastrophryninae) From The Atlantic Forest Of Espírito Santo State, Brazil, João Filipe Tonini, Maruicio Forlani, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Among Neotropical microhylids, the genus Chiasmocleis is exceptionally diverse. Most species ofChiasmocleis were described in recent years based on external morphology, but recent studies using molecular data did not support the monophyly of the species groups clustered based on feet webbing. Furthermore, a phylogeographic study of C. lacrimae estimated high genetic divergence and low gene flow among populations across small geographic ranges. Increasing the molecular and geographic sampling, and incorporating morphological data, we identified new cryptic species. Herein, we used novel genetic and morphological data to describe a new species of Chiasmocleis.

Across-Year Social Stability Shapes Network Structure In Wintering Migrant Sparrows, Daizaburo Shizuka, Alexis S. Chaine, Jennifer Anderson, Oscar Johnson, Inger Marie Laursen, Bruce E. Lyon

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Migratory birds often form flocks on their wintering grounds, but important details of social structure such as the patterns of association between individuals are virtually unknown. We analysed networks of co-membership in short-term flocks for wintering golden-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) across three years and discovered social complexity unsuspected for migratory songbirds. The population was consistently clustered into distinct social communities within a relatively small area (~ 7 ha). Birds returned to the same community across years, with mortality and recruitment leading to some degree of turnover in membership. These spatiotemporal patterns were explained by the combination of space …

Ex Uno Plures: Clonal Reinforcement Drives Evolution Of A Simple Microbial Community, Margie A. Kinnersley, Jared Wenger, Evgueny Kroll, Julian Adams, Gavin Sherlock, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A major goal of genetics is to define the relationship between phenotype and genotype, while a major goal of ecology is to identify the rules that govern community assembly. Achieving these goals by analyzing natural systems can be difficult, as selective pressures create dynamic fitness landscapes that vary in both space and time. Laboratory experimental evolution offers the benefit of controlling variables that shape fitness landscapes, helping to achieve both goals. We previously showed that a clonal population of E. coli experimentally evolved under continuous glucose limitation gives rise to a genetically diverse community consisting of one clone, CV103, that …

Coral-Fish Dynamics And Interactions: A Case Study Of Grand Cayman, Eileen Shea Davis

Lawrence University Honors Projects

To better understand the ecological interactions of coral reefs, it is important to understand the mechanisms that control the distribution and abundance of reef-building corals as well as the mechanisms that control the diversity and abundance of the fish community that inhabits these reef habitats. The purpose of this study was to identify specific coral-fish interactions among the reefs of Grand Cayman in order to gain insight into the biological effects of fish on the assemblage of hard corals. Using data collected by the Lawrence University Marine Program (LUMP), a number of exploratory statistical analyses were run in order to …

The Neotropical Genus Austrolebias: An Emerging Model Of Annual Killifishes, Nibia Berois, María J. Arezo, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Annual fishes are found in both Africa and South America occupying ephemeral ponds that dried seasonally. Neotropical annual fishes are members of the family Rivulidae that consist of both annual and non-annual fishes. Annual species are characterized by a prolonged embryonic development and a relatively short adult life.

Males and females show striking sexual dimorphisms, complex courtship, and mating behaviors. The prolonged embryonic stage has several traits including embryos that are resistant to desiccation and undergo up to three reversible developmental arrests until hatching. These unique developmental adaptations are closely related to the annual fish life cycle and are the …

Joint Phenotypes, Evolutionary Conflict And The Fundamental Theorem Of Natural Selection, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

Multiple organisms can sometimes affect a common phenotype. For example, the portion of a leaf eaten by an insect is a joint phenotype of the plant and insect and the amount of food obtained by an offspring can be a joint trait with its mother. Here, I describe the evolution of joint phenotypes in quantitative genetic terms. A joint phenotype for multiple species evolves as the sum of additive genetic variances in each species, weighted by the selection on each species. Selective conflict between the interactants occurs when selection takes opposite signs on the joint phenotype. The mean fitness of …